Moonfaced!

Okay, after my previous post I felt I must do this -- sorry!

Rim Shot

I took this shot of the moon at Rancho Venado a couple of months ago. It looks like the sky is smiling!

You might ask "hey, where are all those cool new shots with your cool new astro rig?"

Patience, Grasshopper (this reference only works if you were alive and watching TV in the 70's).

I am still putting the system together and waiting for parts:
1) guidescope 2) guide camera 3) extender tubes 4) additional hardware/cabling, etc.

But I have been making excellent progress! I've set-up the new scope several times and tested computer control via The Sky Six software (very cool!), and have solved both AC and DC power solutions. Once I get ALL parts together, I will post the finally assembly.

This is actually a good time of year to be working on gear since the Spring is a lackluster time for the sky (at least for wide field targets). Always interesting stuff up there, but it is relatively sparse right now. Where did all the stars go? I'll tell you...

As you may know, the night sky changes throughout the year -- slowly drifting westward and disappearing over the horizon while new stars rise higher and higher from the east. After a year we come full circle. The most dazzling time of year is Summer and Winter. Why? Because that is when we are looking along the galactic plane of our Milky Way galaxy.

In the summer we look towards the hub of our galaxy and you can see the spiral arm of the Milky Way under dark skies. Within this spiral arm lies a plethora of amazing sights! In winter we are looking towards the outer spiral arms, away from the hub, but still a vast cornucopia of celestial jewels. But in the spring and fall we are looking 90 degrees perpendicular to our galactic plane and out into deep space -- a relative desert. Out there are mostly galaxies and star clusters. Very far away and very tiny. These can be great to image, but require a MUCH longer focal length scope -- these are not wide field objects. Since I'm currently setting up to shoot wide field, I don't have many targets right now. But summer is fast approaching, then I will be shooting like a banshee!

This is M92 (but of course you knew that)

Another Globular Cluster!

Globs kinda remind me of Reggae songs -- I like them, but they all kinda seem the same and I can't really tell them apart. But Globs are fun to shoot and they are good practice.

I shot this with my old rig -- my CPC 800. You might say "gee John, why the hell don't you slap your camera on that spiffy new rig you just bought? I thought it is supposed to be all kick ass and stuff!"

Okay here's the deal: I really need to take the new scope to dark skies, which means transporting it. But I'm waiting on my cases to arrive so it doesn't get tore up (be here in 4 weeks). Also, I CAN image at home but I need to use a Guidescope for guiding since I can't see Polaris from the house (Guidescope is another 2 weeks). I'm also waiting on a 24v AC converter. Confused? Well, let me simply say I don't have all the pieces in place just yet.

So until the Takahashi gear officially goes "on-line", I'm still using the CPC on available bright targets -- like those loveable Globs (even though I can't tell them apart).

I took this image on Mother's Day (actually, Mother's Night)

Enjoy!

Made In Japan

You know, it wasn't all that long ago (okay, maybe a few decades) that "Made in Japan" was synonymous with "cheap" (both price and quality).

My how times change!

Today "Made in Japan" indicates quality, attention to detail, state-of-the-art manufacturing, presentation, and pride of craft. This is true of cars, consumer electronics, and (more on topic) telescope products!

Some of the best optics in the world come from Japan -- Cannon, Nikon, Pentax, and of course Takahashi. In fact, Takahashi pioneered the use of Fluorite Glass in their refractor telescopes way back in the 70's. And today, they remain the sole experts on this exotic glass medium (Fluorite is difficult to make and expensive -- but it is the best glass attainable and yields extreme transmission and perfect color correction).

Now, I like to "Buy American" when I can. But ultimately I just have to "give it up" to a company that places such extreme attention to quality, fit, and finish (and take such pride in their products). When researching Takahashi telescopes, I came across this website tour of their manufacturing plant. I thought it was amazing! Computer controlled manufacturing? Robotic assembly? No way! They work their magic totally old school, crafting everything by hand -- one piece at a time.

Here is a the website (also in my links below): http://www.sbig.com/mb/tak/takpics.htm

Check it out!

Rancho Venado (My Dark Site)

This is my folk's (weekend) place in the South Texas Hill Country. It is about 300 acres located outside the little town of Adamsville, Tx (about 3 hours from Dallas, or 1.5 hours NW of Austin). And it has good dark skies.

Good dark skies are increasingly hard to find because of all the light pollution from the cities.

The stone house is seated on top of a large hill with a terrific view of the horizon. When observing or imaging all night, it is nice to have a comfy place to crash!

My folks really work hard on this place and I am very lucky to able to have such a perfect place to go. It is really beautiful.

And our dogs Ponce and Ouzo like to go feral! But they had to learn the hard way that they can't cross the cattle guards...

Speaking of guarding... faithful dog Ouzo stands guard over my CPC 800 during the day, in the "viewing field".

I'm A Tak Head!

Okay, now I'm serious! This is what a real Astrophotography rig looks like (just add camera). THIS is what followed me home from NEAF last week : )

I am now the proud owner of a Takahashi FSQ Refractor Telescope and EM-200 equatorial mount. This combo is pretty much state of the art for wide-field imaging, so if my images suck I will only have myself to blame.

Actually, I'll have my camera to blame (that's the next upgrade -- shhh... don't tell Kim).

Seriously, I'm very stoked to get this system. I can at long last go for deep exposures of faint objects. The mount is incredibly precise and the refractor uses flourite glass and 4 elements for near perfectly flat color corrected images.

I can't wait for "first light" with this baby! Yeehaw!

Keep watching these pages....

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an Iridian Flare!

I saw my first Iridian flare last Saturday night (along with Kim). What is an Iridian flare? Well...

Iridian is a communication satellite (there are about 66 in orbit). At certain times, the sunlight reflects off their solar panels and cause a huge flare in the sky. These flares last only a few seconds, but they are a hundred times brighter than any star!

I haven't tried to photograph one yet, but it is on my list. There is a cool website called Heavens Above (see my links) that predict when these flares occur for whatever longitude and latitude you happen to be in -- it is VERY precise. Like within a minute. Check it out!